Dubai's stock market declined yesterday after corporate earnings at one of the biggest contracting companies in the emirate missed expectations and after a fire broke out at a building in the city's Jumeirah Lakes Towers district.
Drake & Scull International's shares dropped 5 per cent to 75 fils, after third-quarter profit fell to Dh3.9 million from Dh57.5m last year. Analysts expected the contracting firm to post a profit of Dh37.8 million according to Bloomberg.
Meanwhile, Tamweel's shares sank 3.9 per cent to Dh1.22 after a fire broke out at the 34-storey Tamweel Tower in JLT early yesterday morning.
In a statement on the Dubai Financial Market website, Tamweel said that it planned to continue serving its Dubai customers through its Business Avenue offices in Deira. It added that its staff were at the site of the blaze to provide assistance for residents.
"The worse than expected earnings, combined with the fire, caused the market to retrace," said Haissam Arabi, the chief executive at Gulfmena Investments, an asset manager in Dubai.
The Dubai Financial Market General Index fell 0.9 per cent to 1,601.14 points.
In the capital, property stocks led the declines. Aldar Properties, the biggest developer in Abu Dhabi, fell 2.3 per cent to 41 fils. The Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange General Index fell 0.3 per cent to 2,681.33 points.
